A pastoral examination of the Christian Church’s response to fears of and reactions to witchcraft amongst African people in the Limpopo province of South Africa

M Elijah Baloyi

doi:10.4102/hts.v70i2.1317

Abstract

Amongst other things, African culture (societies) has been characterised by its perception and fear of witchcraft. Even though the belief in witchcraft is an old phenomenon, its growth is revealed and to some extent mitigated by videos, films and accounts and stories of church ministers. Whilst some Christian worship services have been turned into witchcraft-centred campaigns against witchcraft, a second group perceive witchcraft as a way of getting rid of one’s enemies and a third group see it as the root of human misfortune. Indeed ministers (including preachers and pastoral caregivers) are almost ‘measured’ by their ability to successfully ward off demons (believed to have been sent by witches), as a yardstick for determining whether they are good ministers with a good following or congregation. The first group of people attend church to pray for protection against ‘the enemy’, the second group approach native doctors to protect their households from attacks by witches, and the third group rid themselves of witches by burning them along with their personal belongings. This article investigates the impact and consequences of a fear of witchcraft amongst Christians in African societies, particularly those in the Limpopo province of South Africa. It also offers pastoral guidelines for a theological response to witchcraft and its life-threatening influence on people in the affected communities.

Highlights

According to the South African Press Association (SAPA) there is a report entitled ‘Limpopo police warn of new witchcraft trends’, a grandmother, Mupala Motopela, and her granddaughter, Cynthia Lemaho, who where stoned to death and set alight by a mob in Maake village outside Tzaneen after being accused of witchcraft (South African Pagan Rights Alliance [SAPRA] 2011:1)
In analysing one of the Tsonga idioms ‘ku va ni valoyi’, Ntsan’wisi (1985:17) is of the opinion that the Tsonga-speaking people as well as many other African tribes believe in witchcraft, but being ill, dying or afflicted by misfortune are regarded as the result of having been ‘bewitched’
Even today, we still hear words like those spoken by Superintendent Moatshe Ngoepe: Ninety youths have been arrested in Giyani and one boy is dead after 39 houses were torched in what appeared to be a witch-hunt

Summary

Introduction

According to the South African Press Association (SAPA) there is a report entitled ‘Limpopo police warn of new witchcraft trends’, a grandmother, Mupala Motopela, and her granddaughter, Cynthia Lemaho, who where stoned to death and set alight by a mob in Maake village outside Tzaneen after being accused of witchcraft (South African Pagan Rights Alliance [SAPRA] 2011:1). In 1999, a certain Mrs Ramalepa ran away from her family in Botlokwa village, outside Louis Trichardt ( Makhado), for fear of losing her life after her brother had been stoned to death on witchcraft accusations (Associated Press 1999) In another incident, four police officers who were outnumbered by the community were instructed to stay away and to watch on helplessly as the mob stoned to death a Limpopo priest who was suspected of bewitching his 20-year-old relative who had apparently committed suicide at Rankoma village outside Tzaneen. Skhashule Mashile slept in the police station in Acornhoek, Mpumalanga, after being accused of bewitching Mponeng Pebane, whilst the inyanga, Timothy Chiloane, said he helped many people who had been bewitched in his village (Mashaba 2012:20) These incidents render a study on witchcraft relevant and important

Background

Conclusion